Ask Dr. K: Hands-only CPR found to be effective

DEAR DOCTOR K: I thought CPR involved chest compressions, breathing into a person’s mouth and checking their pulse. But my daughter told me that the “new” CPR involves only chest compressions. Is this correct?

DEAR READER: That’s right. Since 2008, the American Heart Association has recommended “hands only” cardiopulmonary resuscitation if an adult suddenly collapses.

Cardiac arrest is usually to blame when someone collapses and stops breathing. It occurs when the heart’s electrical system malfunctions. The heart beats rapidly and chaotically – or stops beating altogether. The person stops breathing and becomes unresponsive.

In contrast, when people faint they also lose consciousness for a brief period, but they don’t stop breathing. You don’t want to perform CPR when someone has fainted, so be sure you have determined if the person is breathing.

If someone goes into cardiac arrest, first call 911, then immediately perform CPR. Place the palm of your non-dominant hand on the center of the person’s chest. If, like most people, you’re right-handed, you would place the palm of your left hand on the center of the chest.

Then with the dominant hand (your right hand, in this example), push down forcefully onto the top of your left hand, at about 100 times a minute. Pushing down this way squeezes blood out of the heart and keeps it flowing throughout the body. Every part of that person’s body needs a constant circulation of blood. The brain needs it most: If it doesn’t have a circulation of blood for more than four minutes, brain cells start to die.

In adults with cardiac arrest, this hands-only approach is just as effective – and possibly better – than CPR with rescue breathing. That’s because a person who suddenly collapses has a fair amount of oxygen in his or her bloodstream and doesn’t need the extra oxygen supplied by rescue breathing. Stopping compressions for rescue breathing may do more harm than good because it temporarily stops blood flowing to the brain.